Lost in Time
by BottomlessAppleJuice
Summary: Dave wakes up, and it's weird from the beginning. Bro is there, he's home, and Rose, Jade, and John live in his state. No one else remembers who they were, the game is nowhere to be found, and he's supposed to be friends with Gamzee? Hell no, he wants out of this!
1. Waking Up Was Wrong

_**I've been playing with this idea for a while, I just haven't been able to form an entire idea around it. The final little piece came to me just moments before I started typing, literally, so hopefully it's formed well enough in my head. We'll see. I apologize if the logging off of the Pesterchums is wrong, it's been a while since I read any Pesterlogs and couldn't find any sign-offs in the limited time I had. Enjoy!**_

A knock on the door caused Dave's eyes to fly open, before he squeezed them closed again to avoid being blinded again. He muttered a few curse words under his breath as he sat up, wondering who had the gall to wake him up at six thirty in the morning. His sleep deprived mind didn't even process the fact that none of the trolls, nor his human friends, would have bothered to knock.

"Dave, bro, it's time to- Oh, you're awake already?" Dave's eyes flew open, suddenly immune to the blinding light as his bro opened the door and walked into the room. "Damn, when did you become such a light sleeper?" He could only stare. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been woken up by Bro. He looked around and realized that he was in his bedroom. The one he'd had before the game. Luckily, he was Dave Strider, and he knew how to keep his cool at all times.

"I didn't sleep well last night is all. Made it easy to wake up." He picked his shades up from the table next to his bed and slipped them onto his face easily, effectively hiding his eyes. Or he'd almost died enough times for his body to know that if there was a loud noise, he was probably in danger. But he had a feeling that that wouldn't be a very smart thing to say to Bro.

"I hear you. That sucks. But you've gotta get ready for school. You're already running a little behind. John's already called twice to see if you're up, and Rose hasn't let up for the past five minutes. Message them and get them off my case already." Dave could only stare in surprised silence as Bro left the room. School? John and Rose calling? Bro knowing who they were? This had to be the weirdest start to a day he'd had in years, but he'd roll with it.

He slipped out of bed, realizing he was wearing regular pajamas, and sat down at his computer. Sure enough, he was being pestered by not only John and Rose, but also by Jade. John's messages were simple, asking if he was up, while Rose's were threats to call Bro to make sure Dave didn't skip school again. Jade was always a nice refresher in the morning, with her simple questions of how he slept and what he'd gotten for answers on their homework from the weekend. Homework? He remembered nothing about homework, so the answer was probably that he didn't do it.

He replied to Rose first.

 **tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 5:45**

 _TT: Dave, you had better not miss school again. I will not have you failing due to laziness._

 _TT: I'm serious, get out of bed!_

 _TT: If you don't message me in five minutes, I'm going to call your brother to wake you._

 _TT: Do you not have any idea what an alarm clock is?_

 _TT: That's it, I'm calling._

 _TG: calm down lalonde im awake now im not going to miss school its still early. and since when do you even care anyway_

 _TT: It is not "early," you should be leaving your house by now. And I've always cared, Dave! I will not have you messing with the class roster or graduation list by flunking out._

 _TG: class roster or graduation list? we don't even live in the same state let alone go to school together_

 _TT: I don't have time for your weird mind games, Dave. Just be at school on time!_

 **tentacleTherapist [TT] stopped pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 7:01**

Dave sat there for a moment. What the hell was Rose smoking? Before the game, they'd lived across the country from one another! There was no way they went to the same school. Maybe John would be able to explain better.

 **ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 6:32**

 __ _EB: morning dave, are you up yet?_

 _TG: am now do you know the deal with rose shes got her panties all twisted this morning going on about how im not allowed to be late or miss school again_

 _TG: no idea what the big deal is we don't even live in the same area_

 _EB: did you bump your head or something? she's almost top of our class, and always on your case_

 _EB: you weren't hanging with the weird makara kid again, were you?_

 _TG: what no he hates me and you know that_

 _TG: has the whole world lost their fucking minds you guys live across the country from me its not possible for you to go to school with me_

 _EB: maybe you actually should skip school and get some sleep or something. i think you're getting sick. i've gotta go, dad's calling me. Feel better dave!_

 **ectoBiologist [EB] stopped pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 7:10**

Jade usually had a bit of insight into the weird mechanisms of their friends. He'd just ask her..

 **gardenGnostic [GG] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 6:34**

 _GG: morning dave!_

 _GG: did you do the homework for Signless over the weekend? (Dave felt a chill go through him at the mentioned name. This was not a good sign.)_

 _GG: im just no good at history!_

 _TG: in all honesty i have no idea what youre talking about_

 _TG: can you tell me whats up with egbert and lalonde this morning theyre acting weird_

 _GG: oh. no, i dont have a clue_

 _GG: why would i know what roses problem is?_

 _GG: she hasnt spoken to me in a year and you know that._

Dave could only stare at his computer. This had to be a prank. There was no possible way that Rose would stop being friends with Jade!

 _GG: john did say you weren't feeling well, so im sure youre just confused! feel better dave!_

 **gardenGnostic [GG] stopped pestering turntechGodhead at 7:23**

Dave was still sitting at his computer, completely dumbfounded and entirely unsure about what just happened, when Bro knocked on his door again ten minutes later. "Dave, we gotta go! You're gonna be late, and we can't have that anymore!"

"J-just a minute!" He didn't even care that he'd stuttered. He rushed himself dressed, pulling on jeans and a random red shirt that he pulled off the floor. He paused as he glimpsed himself in the mirror and looked down. His shirt was blank. He'd had his shirts custom-made to have his record on them long before the game started, and it was just nowhere to be found on this one. He opened his closet to check something. Checkered shirts, striped shirts, green shirts, purple shirts, all different colors and patterns glared at him from inside. He didn't own those.

He contemplated faking sick, but decided against it. There was no way he'd figure anything out if he locked himself away. Whatever was happening here, he needed to be in the thick of it so he could get back to the game. Yeah, he'd almost died multiple times and probably would again, but if there was a timeline where Rose and Jade weren't friends, he was supposed to hang with a Makara, and one of the weird troll ancestor whatevers was a teacher at his school, he didn't want to stay in it any longer than he had to.


	2. Going to School Was Worse

_**Hello, everyone! This is the shortest break between updates I've ever done, I think. Well, at least in a few years. My motivation has all been going toward fanfiction lately.. This might prove detrimental to my schoolwork. Oh well! I hope you enjoy!**_

If he'd thought home was weird, it was nothing compared to school. There were people he recognized from his school before the game, and people he'd never seen before in his life, but he'd expected that. What he hadn't expected was not only were John, Jade, and Rose there, but also Roxy, Dirk, Jake, and Jane. And the trolls.. Except they weren't trolls. He nearly hadn't realized that they were even the trolls, because they looked so different. He didn't notice until he saw a kid who looked like he was trying to take time back to the fifties standing next to a kid wearing a sweater. The sweater wasn't even red, so it was kind of scary.

But upon noticing these two, he began looking closer at the other students. Sure enough, they shared similarities with the ones he'd come to know during SBURB. A blind girl with a walking stick made her way down the hall, an overly tall boy carried a bottle of Faygo – though Dave doubted that that's what was actually in there this time, a boy with too much hair stood next to a girl in a dress, both holding skateboards. Okay. So both sessions were here. That was fine. He could deal.

Until he realized that everyone was acting weird. Jade and Rose wouldn't look at each other; he got the feeling they only stayed so close because they shared a friend group. Cronus and Kankri were only close to each other because they had lockers next to each other; they walked away without so much as a second glance at each other. Terezi kept bumping into things even with her cane, and the boy he recognized as Karkat walked past Gamzee with nothing more than a glare in his direction. Latula handed Kurloz the skateboard as he exited the men's restroom and got on her toes to kiss his cheek.

He blinked as a hand was suddenly shoved in front of his face and started waving around. "Dave, I have been talking to you for nearly ten minutes now! What could possibly be so distracting?" He'd forgotten that Rose had been lecturing him on the importance of time management. She sounded a lot like Kankri in this weird timeline/dimension/whatever it was.

"Sorry, Lalonde. Just thinking. Nothing important." He turned back to people-watching. He distantly heard Rose take a deep breath as if to start talking again, but never started as John started talking.

"Lay off him, Rose. I'm like ninety-seven percent sure that he's getting sick. He was asking weird questions this morning, as if he was light-headed or something, and now look at him. He can barely concentrate." To prove John's point, he coughed, making it sound as real as possible. It was especially effective because they didn't realize he was listening to what they were saying.

"Well.. I suppose that is a good reason to sleep late and ignore your friends.. Fine. I'll leave him alone for today. But only today! I will not associate myself with a slacker." He did _not_ like the new attitudes the people in this school were sporting, not in the slightest. The bell rang to start class before Rose could continue talking, and Dave was so overly grateful for that it was ridiculous. Until he realized that he had no idea where his class was. Or his locker, for that matter – he didn't have any of his books or anything for class.

Jade seemed to notice this – at least her sweet disposition hadn't been compromised. She stayed behind with him as the other two went to class. "You don't have your books, Dave. Do you want my help getting into your locker?"

He looked at her. "That would be fantastic, Harley." She gave him a bit of a weird look, but walked with him anyway. They didn't go far.

"Locker 166, property of the one and only Dave Strider!" She grinned and spun in the combination for him. "7. 13. 5. Think you can remember that later?" He nodded, muttering the numbers to himself to memorize them. As she opened the door, he found himself severely disappointed. There were no decorations inside. No pictures, no notes for the future generation, no whiteboard for him to write reminders on. She pulled out two books: a binder and a calculus book.

"I'm taking calculus? What the hell kind of smart-people classes did Lalonde sign me up for?" Jade looked absolutely horrified by his sentence.

"Dave! You shouldn't use that kind of language, you know how I feel about it! And you signed yourself up for that class! You love math." She looked at him as if he'd killed her dog, and he had no choice but to apologize.

"Sorry, Jade. I wasn't thinking. I'm just really not feeling well." He decided to go for compassionate, to get his point across, and it seemed to work. She nodded, seeming to forgive him.

"It's okay, Dave. Now come on, you're going to be late for class!" He closed his locker door and followed her to the door of a classroom. She waved as she walked off, and he went inside. He saw about fifteen people he didn't recognize, Karkat, and Kanaya. Then he took a glance at the teacher. Was that the Ѱiioniic or Helmsman or whatever he was called? The answer was yes. Yes he was.

"Please, Dave, stand at the door and hold up class further." Dave made his way over to the only empty seat. It was to Karkat's left, with Kanaya to Karkat's right. As he approached, he noticed the two were holding hands. Oh dear sweet baby Jesus he was going to die if stuff like that kept happening.

 _Karkat walked the halls of the meteor. He was a bit more grouchy than usual, because Strider was nowhere to be found. Kanaya had first noticed his absence maybe one day ago, and they hadn't been able to find him since. So yes, Karkat was pissed off, despite how unusual it was for Dave to go off without telling anyone. Suddenly, screams pierced Karkat's ears, and he started running – that sounded like Dave. And if Dave Strider was screaming, then something was seriously wrong._

 _ **Hehe, cliff hangers! That's right, I'm doing both dimension timeline things! The next chapter will probably be all on the meteor. I'm considering changing every two chapters, but we'll see. Bye!**_


	3. On the Meteor

_**Whoops, accidentally stayed away for a month again. Huh. My bad! Anyway, who cares to see how alternate!Dave is doing on the meteor? Enjoy~!**_

 _Previously on "Lost In Time":_ _Karkat walked the halls of the meteor. He was a bit more grouchy than usual, because Strider was nowhere to be found. Kanaya had first noticed his absence maybe one day ago, and they hadn't been able to find him since. So yes, Karkat was pissed off, despite how unusual it was for Dave to go off without telling anyone. Suddenly, screams pierced Karkat's ears, and he started running – that sounded like Dave. And if Dave Strider was screaming, then something was seriously wrong._

Dave turned in a circle, unsure of where he was. He'd woken up in a bed in some room that he didn't recognize, in some weird pajamas with a gear on the front. The cape had been annoying him, so he'd taken it off at first, but it just reappeared on his body. He found that weird, but it was okay. He was Dave Fucking Strider, and he'd be damned if he'd lose his cool that easily. So, anyway, he'd been exploring this wherever-it-was for – he wasn't sure how he knew – for approximately one hour and thirteen minutes, and still had found no clues as to where he was or how he'd gotten here.

He'd found a bathroom a while back, which he was grateful for. He'd also found a kitchen area, and he'd gotten some food, too. Some of it had been crazy-looking, so he hadn't bothered to touch it, or even get closer – he was a little scared it would attack him, if he was completely honest. Despite his findings, though, he had yet to see another creature, human or otherwise, and had managed to get himself completely lost. He couldn't find any of the rooms he'd already looked at, and found himself wondering if they were changing on him, but realized he was probably dreaming.

This was one hella weird dream, though. Usually his dreams at least made sense – people he knew, places he'd been, scenarios that could _actually happen._ He turned his head as he heard a distant noise. ' _What was that?'_ he thought to himself. It wasn't long before it was repeated: _honk._

 _'Well that's not what I expected to hear..'_ He shrugged and started walking toward it. It sounded like one of those horns that you had to squeeze, which meant that someone would probably be there to explain what he was doing here, even if it was a dream. The noise sounded again, and this time it was far closer than he'd expected, and he jumped slightly. He mentally kicked himself for losing his cool like that, and looked around to see if he could find the source of the noise since it sounded like it was literally right next to him. He found no answers, no other person, nothing. Except a vent in the wall. Which very suddenly slammed open, revealing a grey-skinned creature with multi-colored horns who was much taller than Dave thought should have fit inside of the vents, but whatever.

Now, he would have been able to stay calm even through this if the thing hadn't turned its face to him with a grin that creeped Dave out to no end, and then pulled a set of what looked like juggling clubs from thin air. "Well, if it isn't Dave Motherfucking Strider~ I have been all up and looking for you, bro. Karbro says I'm not allowed to, but you fucking came up to me, didn't you? You really motherfucking shouldn't have done that, because now I'm gonna all up and motherfucking kill you, motherfucker, with all the miracles that exist in my motherfucking clubs here! And then I'll do it again and again, since you're all up and god tier and shit." There were two things that saved Dave from actually meeting this fate: first, he screamed, for the first time since he was three, and moved out of the way. The second thing confused him. Another grey-skinned creature, though a much smaller one than the first, ran up after just a few moments, yelling.

"Gog dammit, Strider, what the fuck are you doing picking fights with Gamzee? Do you not fucking listen, or are you just a fucking idiot!" Unfortunately, this distraction cost Dave a few very vital seconds on the next dodge, so his head got clipped. Despite half of the force being taken out, it was still enough to knock him instantly.

Karkat stared at Gamzee from a safe distance, begging him to leave the blond human alone silently. Gamzee stared back, grin slowly fading from his face. "This is the last motherfucking time. You're lucky I don't motherfucking kill you both. I find him alone again, he's motherfucking mine." He slammed his club down, audibly shattering Dave's left arm bones, and disappeared into the vents at a speed Karkat didn't even know he was capable of. The small troll approached the Knight and sighed.

"One of these days you're going to get yourself kidnapped by him, and I'm _not_ organizing a suicide mission to rescue your stupid ass." With that, he started dragging the teen down the hallway to the library, where he knew Rose and Kanaya would be at this time to help with his healing process.

 _ **I'm too nice. Maybe I should have made it to where Karkat**_ **did** _ **have to organize a rescue mission. Hm.. I'll probably do it later, just be on the lookout! Guys. If any of this is wrong, any of it at all, any fact of the meteor or the people on it,**_ **tell me. Please.** _ **I'm still pretty new to Homestuck, okay? I'm only on act three, haven't reached the meteor yet. I know enough to get by, but I will fix any mistakes you guys catch, if you just let me know. Thanks!**_


	4. This is a Dream

_**Uh, whoops. I didn't mean to disappear for so long like that. It'll probably happen a lot, though. I can only write at school, so in between semesters is kind of eh. But! Classes started back today, so hopefully I'll update relatively often! Anyway, let's find out what's happening to Meteor Dave, shall we?**_

Rose closed her book and looked at Dave as he let out a groan and moved to sit up. "About time you woke up, I was beginning to actually get concerned. How are you feeling?"

Dave turned to look at her and sighed in relief; finally, someone he actually recognized. "I feel like I got hit in the face with something really hard, and my arm is killing me." Despite his complaints, he moved to his feet, unconcerned. His spars with his brother, though playful, were intense, and he'd grown used to the pain a long time ago. "Where even are we, Rose?"

Her expression grew even more concerned at the question. Surely he wasn't suffering any memory loss, his brain hadn't suffered any swelling or other damage. "We're on the meteor, Dave. Don't you remember?"

He almost laughed. "Meteor? You mean like space junk? Come on, quit messing with me. Just tell me where we are."

She put her book down and stood up, moving to inspect him. He was healing just fine, why in the world was he so confused? "Stay here, Dave, I need to talk to Kanaya. I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere." He watched her leave, more confused than ever, and opened his mouth to ask questions as soon as the door opened again.

"Since when do you talk to Kanaya?" But it wasn't Rose, it was the short creature that he guessed had saved him before.

"Kanaya? What are you talking about?" Its – he didn't know what it was – face morphed into a glare as he stared at it silently, not sure how to react. Should he be scared? Was this thing friendly? It pretty obviously wasn't human, which only strengthened his theory that he was dreaming. Never mind the fact that that meant he would have had to have seen this thing before; he knew humans couldn't make up faces in their dreams. "Strider, are you going to fucking say something or just stare at me like an idiot?"

Dave finally spoke. "Who the heck are you?" It was the creature's turn to stare in disbelief.

"Are you fucking joking?" It asked as the door opened again, revealing Rose and another grey-skinned creature, this one with mismatched horns and a more feminine appearance. The short one looked at the two. "He doesn't know who I am. What the fuck is going on?"

"We.." The grey-skinned female – or Dave guessed it was female – hesitated. "We aren't sure. He didn't suffer any major brain trauma, and even if he had it should have healed by now. Based on what Rose has collected from her short conversation, and this new added information, it appears that he has a somewhat severe case of amnesia. We are not sure how long it will last." All three of them turned to Dave, who was suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable.

"First of all, no one's answered any of my questions. Second, I still don't know who – or what – you two are. And third, I don't have amnesia. I remember everything perfectly, except how I got here." He crossed his arms, glad to have realized that his shades apparently had survived whatever weird attack he'd gone through, and hid his eyes so they couldn't tell how much he was beginning to freak out. The female creature stepped forward.

"I believe that the easiest course of action would be to introduce ourselves before we get into where we are and how we got here. You quite obviously are already acquainted with Rose. This is Karkat Vantas," she motioned to the male creature. "And I am Kanaya Maryam."

Dave waved his arms. "Okay, you can stop right there. I know Karkat and Kanaya, and they do not look like this. You know why? Because they look perfectly normal. I'm obviously dreaming, that's the only explanation. It all makes sense. The weird pajamas, the freaky creature coming out of a vent, the two of you being.. Whatever it is you are, all of it, this whole thing."

"What the fuck are you talking about? We've been.. Friends.. For fucking ages! You know us, Strider. Rose, and Kanaya, and me, and Gamzee." Karkat did _not_ like where this was going. "And what do you mean 'normal'?"

"Uh, human, obviously. Which I don't think you are, because I'm not an idiot, and can see what's right in front of me." He received nothing but silent, shocked stares.

"I can't fucking deal with this. I'm going to find Terezi and Vriska. I need to make sure they haven't lost it too." 'Karkat' stormed out.

Dave looked at Kanaya expectantly. If they were who they claimed they were, she'd go after him. But she simply studied him before asking, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Aren't you going to go after him?"

"And why would I do that?"

"Well I mean. He's your boyfriend, isn't he?" Rose stepped forward and took Kanaya's hand.

"Dave.. Karkat's not dating Kanaya. I am." Dave looked down at their hands, then back up at them.

"This entire thing is wrong, and you're all crazy." He had to get out of here. But how? He shoved past them, faster than they could catch, and bolted out. He saw Karkat down the hall and went the other way, not stopping until he was good and lost, despite their shouting for him to come back. This was crazy, this whole thing. Karkat and Kanaya were not weird grey-skinned creatures, they were not on a meteor, this was a dream, and he had to wake up before it got any weirder. He didn't care if running wasn't something he would normally do. Nothing was normal, and he could do whatever he wanted.

 _ **Ngh, this feels so rushed to me. I'll probably redo it at some point, but I need to end it here so we can get back to the other Dave. I think I made it longer though, which more than one person has suggested that I do. If not, I'll keep trying. See you next chapter!**_


	5. Homestuck

_**I need to stop expecting myself to remain active on this site. At least I came back for my stories this time instead of just deleting them all. I've been trying to write this chapter for a year, let's see if this works any better than the previous attempts. I am going to go in something of a new direction with my introductions, so maybe that will help?**_

 __ _Previously on Lost in Time: Dave Strider awoke in a strange reality in which everything is almost exactly the same, and yet completely different. He's managed to survive one day at his "new" school. How much longer will he last?_

It had only been one day, and Dave was ready to claw out his hair from frustration. Just about every move he'd made so far had been questioned, turned the wrong way, and pissed someone off. He'd been going under the guise of being ill, but he suspected that that excuse would only work for so much longer. It was time to begin figuring out what had happened and how he'd ended up here. It was obvious that someone was playing a massive prank, but he wasn't sure who, or how they were pulling it off. He wasn't exactly sure who to talk to, but it didn't seem to matter; someone had messaged him first.

 **apocolypseArisen [AA] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 20:13**

 _AA: hell0 dave h0w are y0u feeling_

 _AA: i heard y0uve been sick t0day and wanted t0 check in_

 _AA: since y0u didnt b0ther t0 c0me say hell0 t0 me at all t0day_

 _TG: jesus aradia warm it up a little will you_

 _TG: freezing me out here with the cold passive aggressiveness_

 _TG: its just been a weird sort of day. i dont really know what to make of it_

 _TG: didnt mean to make you feel ignored or whatever_

 _AA: its fine dave like i said I heard y0u werent feeling well_

 _AA: are y0u feeling any better_

 _TG: not specifically but ill manage somehow. it's the weekend right who knows how ill feel come monday_

 _AA: y0u have a p0int there_

 _AA: i have t0 g0 n0w but ill check in 0n y0u later_

 **apocolypseArisen [AA] stopped pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 20:20**

Dave sighed, leaning back in his chair and staring up at the ceiling. Damn. He was hoping she'd know something. She and Jade always seemed to know everything about everything, but then again this was apparently a whole different world. Jade was.. Flighty here. Flighty was a good word. At least Aradia's messages were easier to understand here, less cryptic and more straightforward. The fact that she'd messaged him made him curious about his relationships with everyone else here. He seemed friendly enough with John, Jade, Rose, and now Aradia. Karkat and Kanaya had ignored him for the most part, too wrapped up in each other, so that still left question marks. Everyone else? Huge blank.

He sat up and started looking through his old pesterlogs to see who he talked to often. John, Jade, Rose, Aradia. Normal stuff. Sollux a couple of times, no surprise there. Wait a minute, hold the phone. When the hell did he talk to that clown fuck? Was John seriously not joking when he made that comment earlier? Great. That was going to be a hard relationship to uphold given his personal memories with the kid. At least if he pissed him off in this world he wasn't likely to be decapitated or have his head smashed in. That was good news.

God, being in this room was depressing. He'd come a long way since he'd last lived with Bro, and he wasn't specifically looking to be in that living arrangement again. Although, this Bro seemed friendlier, warm even. He'd actually spoken. And _knocked_. His Bro would never stoop so low as to make such noise. Nevertheless, he was just hoping for the best and to get out of here as soon as possible.

A knock on the door had him on his feet in less than a second, before he came to his senses and sat back down. If something was going to hurt, maim, or kill you, it probably wouldn't knock. "Come in." To his surprise, it was Dirk who opened the door.

"Hell, man, you gonna starve yourself in here all night or what? You've never been so antisocial." It took Dave a moment to think straight enough to give an answer.

"I, uh. Today's not been a good day." It was the best he could do, he seemed to have forgotten what words were. "What are you doing here?" Oh, there the words were, to make him look like an idiot.

"I.. Live here? What are you doing here? Oh, you live here too. Forgot, because you've been stuck in this hole for four hours. Come on. Whether you've been sick today or not, you need to eat something before you waste away." Ah, shit, they _lived together_? He'd bet they were brothers, too. He guessed it could be worse. He could have to live with Rose. He didn't think he'd get along so well with the one from this side of the void.

He moved to his feet again, this time at a normal speed. "All right, I'm coming." They walked out into the hallway, moving through the familiar yet oh-so-different house to the kitchen. It seemed as though someone had cooked something, which was not in Dave's regular pattern, but who was he to complain? He could do this, maybe. Eat, go to bed, wake up tomorrow back on the meteor where things weren't exactly normal but at least he knew what was going on. Although he had the sinking feeling that the last bit wasn't going to happen. Who knew how long he'd be here?

 _ **Oh yes, that went much better. I had to move to a completely different scene than the one I'd had picked out, but perhaps I can return to that one later and make something of it? Filler chapters are fun, but I think next time I'll try to have something happen. Sburb Dave in real life isn't going to be all too exciting, but I'll make it work somehow. See you all later~**_


	6. Relationship Trouble

_**Hello everyone! Welcome back to all of those who read this before, and welcome aboard to those who have no idea why they're here! Let's get moving.**_

It had been almost a week since he'd woken up in this world, and while he was slowly getting used to this weird world, as he'd decided to start calling it, he was no closer to finding a way to like it here. He didn't like the new personalities his friends had, he didn't like the dynamics that were at work here. He definitely didn't like that he was expected to act like what the Original Dave did, especially since he most definitely did not.

Luckily, everyone was still convinced that he was sick, but he had the feeling that that excuse wouldn't work for too much longer, especially for Rose. He'd at least managed to keep up on his schoolwork, as that seemed to be just about the only thing for him to do now that he'd realized his situation. His powers didn't work here. At all. He'd tried multiple times, and nothing had come of any of his attempts except Bro and Dirk coming to investigate the strange loud noises coming from his bedroom.

But he supposed it could be worse. He could just plain be back to his old life, with his real Bro and his friends halfway across the country, so he'd give himself that bit of good luck. As it stood now, his grades had probably dropped but he was keeping up. All except for his stupid gym class. Everything would be fine, but those stupid Amporas and their weird ancestor dad or whatever was a stickler for the rules. And of course, those rules included no sunglasses, which meant that he wouldn't let Dave participate in the gym activities if he was wearing them, even if he was wearing the rest of his uniform; and no matter how much shit Rose gave him, he wasn't about to take them off, so he'd take the failing grade.

So he was currently sitting off to the side of the gym, watching everyone do their thing while he was forced to be inactive, and it was driving him absolutely mental. He hadn't had any real exercise since he'd gotten here, which wasn't such a big deal since this version of himself wasn't exactly fit, but the mental aspect of it had him by the throat and he was suffering for it.

"Hey Strider." Dave turned his head at the call, only just recognizing the lanky form of that bee-obsessed Gemini troll, Sollux. Weird. This was the first time he'd seen the kid. Had he been actually sick (unlike Dave), or was Dave really bad at paying attention?

"What do you want?"

"You're really going to fail this class over some stupid glasses, huh?" His lisp wasn't as pronounced now that he was human and didn't have those giant ass fangs, but Dave couldn't really comment on that without sounding like a psychopath, so he just shrugged.

"Can't see without 'em. The light is blinding."

"Maybe if you took them off once in a while you'd be able to see better instead of making yourself pretty much as blind as Pyrope over there."

"And what's your excuse for not participating, huh?"

"Asthma. Can't breathe if your lungs don't work." He grinned, sitting beside the blond. "But you already knew that, you weirdo." Dave wasn't entirely sure he would be able to keep this particular interaction off the top of his 'Weirdest Things That Have Happened to Me in This World' list, but maybe after he'd been here for a while and something else happened he would. Who knows?

"Where have you been? Haven't seen you in a week." He almost held his breath, almost afraid this was something he was supposed to have known, or even if Sollux might have been gone longer than the week Dave had been mucking around here, but Sollux just smirked and shrugged.

"Been sick. Flu, of all things."

"Your tone makes me think that's just a cover for something else you've been up to."

"Clever as always, Strider!" Dave had to keep himself from tensing up as the half-Korean boy flung an arm around him. "That's why I keep you around. No, I got suspended for 'disorderly conduct,' but it was total bullshit. Nothing I haven't done before."

"Well what'd you do to get yourself caught, if you've done it so many times?" Sollux simply rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"As if you don't know. I just want to know how you kept yourself out of trouble." Shit. He was supposed to know this? Ugh. If he could just access the memories of the Other Dave, he could figure it out. But he'd just have to wing it.

"Just got lucky, I guess. Managed to slip out just in time." Sollux seemed to take this answer, nodding thoughtfully. Jeez, when did the guy get so emotionally open and expressive? It was a weird thing to witness when he was used to just snarky comments and cool tones. Speaking of, he seemed to be glaring at something in the distance. Following his gaze, Dave met the cold glare of none other than Eridan Ampora.

"Why the fuck is he glaring at me like that?" Sollux turned to look at the albino, surprise on his face. Dave wasn't sure if it was because of his language (that had gotten him into trouble with more than one person here) or his lack of knowledge on the subject.

"The same reason he usually does?" Dave waited, blank-faced. "I'd probably be pretty pissed off if you stole my boyfriend too."

"Wait, what? I stole who's what-now?"

"Boyfriend, Strider." Sollux's words were slow and sarcastic. "Try to keep up. He and I weren't working anyway. Fucking prick."

"So we're.. Dating."

"Last time I checked, yeah. Unless you broke up with me and I missed the memo." The hurt and confusion on the Gemini's face was horribly disconcerting and didn't help Dave's processing of the situation.

"No. I didn't. Sorry. I've just.. Not been feeling well lately. Having some memory problems or something."

"And you didn't call me?"

"I should have. Sorry. I just didn't want you to worry." The glare from Sollux let him know very clearly that he wasn't forgiven just yet. Great. This was just what he needed.

 _Dave only made it a few feet before some sort of cane appeared at ankle level from around a corner and sent him sprawling. He rolled over, barely recognizing the shit-eating grin of who he guessed to be this place's Terezi. "Jeez, Strider, have a nice trip?"_

 _ **Tada! Plot twist! Even for me, jeez. I was gonna have him be with Jade. But I like this better. Really need to write ahead more and get a plan instead of just doing it on the spot, but oh well. See you next time!**_


End file.
